Where I’ve Been and Independence Update!

Wowza! I’ve been off the blog for over a week – it’s been a mad house around here! What with the teething and growing and friends over for dinner and getting all set for the holidays, plus prepping to do my student teaching! Yikes!

So a quick update…. I think I owe a few weeks of Independence days. We’d be on week 28, but I really don’t feel like I have all that much to report for the last three weeks or so (see the mad house comment, above). The chickens are just hanging out (or hanging in) in the snow, and we are still getting two or three eggs a day from them. The two older hens are not laying, and I’m guessing they won’t lay through the winter. The three little girls are busy, but they can’t keep up with Henry, the egg eating machine, so we did buy a couple dozen this week. Yes, they are both local and humane. ;)

So there’s nothing in the Plant Something, and only eggs in the Harvest Something category. Does any one know if it is too late to put garlic in the ground? We’ve wanted to do this, but have kept putting it off and now it might be too late??

We did pick up our hog (well, only half a hog this fall) last week. We split it with Dave the Dentist, and so maybe that counts as Want Not/Prep & Storage or Build Community Food Systems?? Since we didn’t harvest anything new, there was nothing to Preserve. Wait, no, I take that back. We did boil a turkey carcass to death, so we preserved some turkey stock (which is delicious!).

Waste Not – well, compost and recycling, of course, and we are still mucking about with the pallets Rick brought home for the new bins we want to make. Rick brought home a piece of drywall that was to be cast off at work (they’re remodeling his office), to replace a damaged piece in our basement junk room. Also, found a couple of cute uses for scrap fabric that have been transformed into Christmas gifts.

Eat the Food – ah, food. The one category that never fails me. I always eat! So this week, we are making green bean casserole from beans we froze, and chardonnay glazed carrots from the sweet carrots of the late summer/early fall. And mashed potatoes from the spuds stored down in the basement. Yum. Yes, we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner. I plan to break out the home-made dill pickles and watermelon rind pickles for snacks while the turkey roasts.

And I made my cranberry sauce ahead of time. I adapted an Everyday Food recipe. I was standing there cooking it, when suddenly the urge to add rosemary overcame me. I put it in and I think it turned out pretty tasty. So here’s that one for you:

Rinse and drain cranberries. In a large sauce pan, add cranberries, sugar, orange peel and water. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer 15 minutes. Add rosemary sprigs and simmer 5-10 minutes more. Remove from heat, and stir in orange juice. Let cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a week. To serve, bring to room temperature and remove rosemary, garnish with a fresh rosemary sprig.

So that catches up the Independence Days. Happy Thanksgiving Day to you!

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One thought on “Where I’ve Been and Independence Update!”

Welcome back! I’m a regular garlic planter and here in KS it (generally) would be too late to plant garlic. That being said, if you have a micro-climate spot of your garden/yard that tends to be warmer (lots of sunshine and somewhat protected from winds) you could give it a try. Just be sure to mulch w/ straw whenever the temp is below 38 degrees or so. Ideally, garlic should be able to get to a height of 5 or so inches before the mulch has to stay on permanently for the cold/snowy months. Good luck on all your endeavors!

Howdy!

From gardens, bees and backyard chickens in the heart of Denver to starting from scratch in San Antonio. Our family of five is striving to find the simple life - the easy way. I spend my free time blogging and getting dirt under my nails along side my hard-working husband. Yay for modern housewifery, urban livestock and front yard gardens!